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Monday playoff looms at Zurich after Kisner hole-out

The weather nearly washed out the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but after an exciting finish near dusk two teams will return Monday to battle for the title. Here's how things ended up in the Crescent City, where a playoff looms in the morning at TPC Louisiana:

What it means: Blixt and Smith started the day with a four-shot lead, but Kisner and Brown rocketed past them after only six holes to take a lead when rain halted play for more than six hours. Once players got back on the course, Blixt and Smith birdied No. 17 to take a one-shot lead only to watch Kisner hole out for eagle on the final hole to force overtime. Regulation play ended essentially in the dark, meaning all four men will return to the course at 9 a.m. ET Monday, where Smith will look to win for the first time while Kisner and Brown will hope to cap a sizeable comeback.

Round of the day: Kisner and Brown started the day four shots off the pace, but when weather halted play after just six holes they had already taken the lead. Thanks in large part to six birdies in a row from Kisner on Nos. 2-7, the pair birdied 10 of their first 11 holes and then added one more highlight on No. 18 with their backs against the wall to close out a round of 12-under 60.

Best of the rest: The team of Kraft and Tway fired an 11-under 61 that moved them up 11 spots on the leaderboard. The pair birdied five out of six from Nos. 2-7, then played their final eight holes in 6 under including an eagle from Kraft on the final hole. For Tway, it's a second straight T-3 finish after contending last week in San Antonio.

Biggest disappointment: It's tough to be disappointed when a playoff spot still looms, but Blixt and Smith felt like they had this thing wrapped up. After a four-shot lead disappeared, the two used the lengthy weather delay to reset and grabbed the outright lead with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 before Kisner's shot at the buzzer meant all four players had to come back out on Monday.

Shot of the day: With Smith already in close for birdie, Kisner managed to hole his chip from 95 feet to force a playoff and spark a raucous celebration with the fans that stuck around behind the 18th green in near-darkness.

After Further Review: Woods wisely keeping things in perspective

Each week, GolfChannel.com takes a look back at the week in golf. Here's what's weighing on our writers' minds.

On Tiger Woods' career comeback ...

Tiger Woods seems to be the only one keeping his comeback in the proper perspective. Asked after his tie for fifth at Bay Hill whether he could ever have envisioned his game being in this shape heading into Augusta, he replied: “If you would have given me this opportunity in December and January, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.” He’s healthy. He’s been in contention. He’s had two realistic chances to win. There’s no box unchecked as he heads to the Masters, and no one, especially not Woods, could have seen that coming a few months ago. – Ryan Lavner

On Tiger carrying momentum into API, Masters ...

Expect Jordan Spieth to leave Austin with the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play trophy next week.

After all, Spieth is seemingly the only top-ranked player who has yet to lift some hardware in the early part of 2018. Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas have all gotten it done, as have Jason Day, Phil Mickelson and most recently Rory McIlroy.

Throw in the sudden resurgence of Tiger Woods, and with two more weeks until the Masters there seem to be more azalea-laden storylines than ever before.

A Spieth victory in Austin would certainly add fuel to that fire, but even if he comes up short the 2015 champ will certainly be a focus of attention in a few short weeks when the golf world descends upon Magnolia Lane with no shortage of players able to point to a recent victory as proof that they’re in prime position to don a green jacket. – Will Gray

Davies not giving up on win, HOF after close call

PHOENIX – Laura Davies knows the odds are long now, but she won’t let go of that dream of making the LPGA Hall of Fame.

At 54, she was emboldened by her weekend run at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup. She tied for second, five shots behind Inbee Park.

“The more I get up there, I might have a chance of winning again,” Davies said. “I'm not saying I will ever win, but today was close. Maybe one day I can go closer.”

Davies is a World Golf Hall of Famer, but she has been sitting just outside the qualification standard needed to get into the LPGA Hall of Fame for a long time. She needs 27 points, but she has been stuck on 25 since her last victory in 2001. A regular tour title is worth one point, a major championship is worth two points.

Over her career, she has won 20 LPGA titles, four of them major championships. She was the tour’s Rolex Player of the Year in 1996. She probably would have locked up Hall of Fame status if she hadn’t been so loyal to the Ladies European Tour, where she won 45 titles.

Though Davies didn’t win Sunday in Phoenix, there was more than consolation in her run into contention.